The Value of Buying Locally
Buying your building materials locally can be a very rewarding and cost effective experience. It seems to me that the most common place we hear about supporting locally is in the grocery store. It seems that more and more farmers are getting their local goods into our stores. I think it is so great! It cuts down on the transportation costs for the farms, and can help the local economies. Not only that, but smaller farms can offer higher quality products at a competitive price.
As with food, building materials can be purchase locally. It is my suggestion that you try to purchase as many of your building materials from local sources as possible. In Minnesota for example, there are great forests with wonderfully developed white and red pines. These are great trees for log homes. If you are looking into building with logs, consider what your local woods can offer. Instead of shipping out cedar trees from Washington. You will be paying less for a relatively comparable product.
Wood mills are a great place to look into for local products. At these places you can often find wood that is not 100% top for their retail standards, but can function perfectly and beautifully. Another idea is to contact an individual if you see a building on their property that is simply 'heading south.' Often times I see great barns and farm buildings in this condition. Here you can find a variety of materials that may need a little buffing up. These materials can include large support beams for structural systems, trim wood, wood flooring, doors, and windows.
You will find that you local community has a lot to offer the building trade. A suggestion to find some of these, if you are unsuccessful in other ways, might be to put an ad in the local newspaper for the desired materials. Creating a structure with local materials also simply creates a beautiful structure that can blend in well with the area, yet stand out with impeccable design and creativity.